TV Reviews for the Week of Dec. 14, 2008 Pt. 2

“Oh look at that. A dumb idea just found a friend.”

Emerson gets probably the best lines of the show, with Olive coming in a close second. And these two opposites are definitely my favorite characters. It seems like the show is really trying to wrap everything up before it’s over, and I hope it succeeds. I hope Olive is brought up to speed, I hope Ned confesses to Chuck about how her dad died, I hope that Emerson is reunited with his daughter, and I hope there’s a great story behind Ned’s dad’s disappearance.

I think I missed an episode or two. His girlfriend is dating someone else? And is blond? Good episode, though, and the kid was great.

Ah, gotta love the cliffhanger endings. I’m assuming he’s going to live, though, considering the show comes back in February. The stuff with Ted in prison was great. Since seeing him on Chicago Hope, I’ve enjoyed Adam Arkin in just about everything else I’ve seen him in. I was surprised that Reese fell off the wagon, but I’m glad she’s back in meetings.

The marriage was pointless. Classic. And they’re staying together. That’s sweet, I guess.

Y’know, it wasn’t the dead family that I felt most sorry for in this episode. No, it was JJ’s replacement as the media liaison. She’s trying really hard, and she’s getting nothing but crap from Hodges. The team is trying to be nice and helpful, but you can tell, especially at the end of this episode, that she’s not part of the team, just a temporary replacement.

TV Reviews for the Week of Dec. 7, 2008 Pt. 2

"Make it look like an accident. Trip over an ottoman and Dick Van Dyke his ass."

Having Chuck’s dad around gave the tension between the couple a renewed awkwardness. I think it’s just too bad that he left. Will Chuck and Ned go after him? Will the next episode be a road trip? And out of all of the interactions, the ones between Emerson and Olive are always the best. They’re a good team.

"What? What could they possibly have against the homos? I mean, the homos have given us everything. They’ve given us fashion and art and stretch denim and caramelized onions. I just love the homos."

I really enjoyed Megan Mullaly’s guest spot here more than on 30 Rock, and it’s not because of the lesbian kiss because that...that was just disturbing. The vasectomy thing was just ridiculous. It’s not that bad of a procedure, and hey, no more kids.

"’Cause bills are light and they bend. Nickels are heavy and hilarious."

With young ‘uns, their milestones have also been milestones for me. Starting on solid foods, getting rid of the bottle, potty training, dressing themselves, learning how to use the TV remote control...all their milestones either save me money or time. Apparently, though, according to this episode, as they get older, their milestones will cost me more money. Drats!

Things have very slowly been going in the direction that Det. Crews has wanted them to go in. But now Ted is back in jail and Crews is under someone’s thumb. As with all the cop shows that I thoroughly enjoy, I don’t care about the cases. I like watching the characters together. Crews and Ted. Crews and Reese. Reese and the Captain. Hell, the Captain with everyone. Crews and Bobby. I’m into the personal stuff.

You know how this is going to end. The FBI comes in to help with a local case, and the local cops get their hackles up. By the end of the episode, the two agencies work with each other to solve the case, and there’s respect all around. I work for an agency that promotes interagency cooperation, so I always bristle a little bit during shows like this. But really, this isn’t the norm for this show. Usually the agencies are happy for the FBI’s assistance and do all they can to help.

If I’m not mistaken, this is a ripped-from-the-headlines story that was ripped from the headlines a couple of decades ago. I remember learning about this in one of my journalism classes. A journalist wrote a series of award winning articles about a heroin addict. When all was said and done, the entire thing was made up. There was no death, no murder that I can recall, but it’s very similar.

Brian’s talk with God just seemed false, and the show was too predictable by having his wife get better. At least he still acted like his dickish self when talking with the Bishop. And since there wasn’t a "Next time on Dirty Sexy Money" at the end of the episode, I’m scared that this was the last episode and it ended on a pretty awful cliffhanger to end on. Nick wasn’t shot, Karen was still at the house, Jeremy was knocked out, Patrick was floored by two cops, and I’m pretty sure Leticia and Tripp went out the back. That leaves Carmelita. I’d say Shane (was that his name?) unloaded on her to get back at Patrick.

That was just the kind of intervention I’d expect from Michael. And when that doesn’t work, he treats her like he’s taking a dog to the vet but gets her in the car by telling her they’re going to the park. Nice. So now everybody knows about Angela and Dwight. I wonder when Andy will find out. This is going to be some awkward fun. And once again, poor Toby.

"Those are gonna be the happiest poor kids since my brother and I went to Neverland Ranch."

"If all you wanted was a hug from a black person, maybe you should just host the Price Is Right."

"This is a religious holiday. When has religion ever caused trouble?"

"I’m trying to produce a Christmas special that makes It’s a Wonderful Life look like Pulp Fiction."

Y’know, I could probably post nothing but quotes from this show and I would have the funniest blog ever. I was caught off guard by the realization that Colleen was boffing Mr. Schwartz to provide a nice Christmas for her kids. It’s...heart-warming...in its own way.

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Listening to: Neil Patrick Harris - Slipping
via FoxyTunes

TV Reviews for the Week of Nov. 30, 2008 Pt. 2

“I’m going to win that blue ribbon, wrap it around her neck, and strangle her with it.”

I just had a Law & Order Lenny Briscoe moment. When Ned made the comment about the Colonel being extra crispy, that sounds like a credit intro worthy of the late Lenny (whose name escapes me at the moment) or the less likable Horatio Caine (David Caruso’s character on CSI: Miami). And damn, Olive is nothing but cleavage in this episode. Not that I’m complaining, mind you, but it’s just a bit difficult to follow the storyline of the dead Colonel.

Well, this was disappointing. It turns out I got an episode of Law & Order rather than Life. Did this happen to everyone?

Hey! It’s Clancy Brown! I really like him, and he’ll always be the voice of Lex Luthor for me. It’s just too bad he plays a really good villain.

Tripp is a master manipulator. What he did against Simon was wonderful. And the wedding was sweet and wonderful. Ren is a lovely woman. She’s got a wonderful smile. I’m going to have to imdb.com her (not right now, but eventually) and find out if I’ve seen her elsewhere. As the end of the episode showed us, I’m pretty sure that taking this job wasn’t the best thing to do.

If there were more time, this would have been an excellent episode to have some good Jim vs. Pam shenanigans. As it were, Pam’s ploy of putting on makeup and being nice wasn’t all that effective. And it looks like Dwight has now become the Ross of the show, and Angela is his Rachel.

“I saw my grandparents making love once and didn’t leave right away.”

“I want to go to there.”

Having Lemon turn out to be the bitch was great. I was disappointed in the Kenneth/Tracy/Jenna plot. Kenneth’s jokes weren’t funny at all, but I guess that was the whole point.

TV Reviews for the Week of Nov. 23, 2008 Pt. 2

"I was still really wrong about what I thought that was."

This is the cancellation that hurts the most. Okay, there was some whistling going on in the background that was really freaking me out. This was a good episode with an ending that seemed rushed. I’m wondering if it was supposed to be like that, or if they’re trying to come up with a decent ending before the show’s final episode.

"Y’know I hate when you sniff and smell dead stuff."

Some excellent character moments here, especially with Bones and her dad. And I liked what Sweets told Booth: he’s not a bad father because he can’t get Parker into a private school, but he would be if he didn’t beat himself up about it. I just finished watching this and I can’t remember any of the science behind the episode, but I don’t care. It’s the people and their lives that interest me, and they are interesting.

"It’s behind your barette."

The only time I’ve ever caught any of The Pickup Artist (I think that’s what it’s called) has been on The Soup or Best Week Ever, when they’re making fun of him. But this is so much better. The Pickup Artist has created a serial killer. And damn, Prentiss and Jordan were harsh on him. And does Reid have a girlfriend? Good for him!

Because of various scheduling conflicts, this is the first episode of L&O this season that I’ve been able to watch. I like Jeremy Sisto, but I’ve never been much of an Anthony Anderson fan. It was a rough episode to wrap my head around. As a parent, I definitely see the parents’ point of view. But it sounds so horrible. And didn’t SVU do this already?

I think I should have started watching that Dennis Leary fireman show when it started. I thoroughly enjoy every FX show I’ve watched: The Shield, Nip/Tuck, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Dirt, and now Sons of Anarchy. This isn’t the most intense show that FX has, but it’s definitely one of the best acted. Since the first episode when Jacks found his dad’s book, you could tell a confrontation between him and Clay was inevitable. It looks like we’ll have that next season. It’ll be interesting, if Jacks does split from the Sons, to see who goes with him and who stays with Clay.

"Two years? That’s almost three years."

Y’know how I know Tony Shaloub is a good actor? Because he can go from being Antonio the immigrant cab driver in Wings to Adrian Monk, an extremely obsessive compulsive detective scared of everything. I didn’t get into this until a couple of years ago, when Trailer Howard became Monk’s assistant. I thoroughly enjoyed her in Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Parlor and that Foo Fighters video...and she’s pretty. The show itself is slightly better than average, but I truly believe that Shaloub deserves every Emmy he’s received. Apparently Monk has a Christmas episode every year. It’s usually a few weeks before a new season starts. This had some great gags with Monk dealing with bums, Captain Stotlemeyer (who many may remember as Buffalo Bob from Silence of the Lambs) as a monk, and Disher with a mustache. Good primer for when the show returns in a few weeks.

"You have cooties on your face!"

This is probably the best original show that the USA Network has. Gus (the West Wing’s Dule Hill) is a great straight man to Shawn Spencer’s smart mouth and his excellence in observing the mundane. The stories are rather simple, but it’s the characters that I like and how they interact with each other. I’m finding that I’ll sacrifice story or believability if the characters are really engaging. As with Monk, this was a Christmas special. Shawn hooks up with Gus’ sister, and they solve a murder. Merry Christmas!

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Listening to: Avenue Q - There Is Life Outside Your Apartment
via FoxyTunes

TV Reviews for the Viewing Week of Nov. 16, 2008 Pt. 2

Holy crap, that’s an awful way to die. Head slammed against a latch then cooked alive in a convection microwave oven for six and a half hours. This show is one of the rare breed that gets better with age. This is a wonderful ensemble that plays extremely well with each other. They’re comfortable and natural. Pair up any two members of the cast and you can have an episode where they’re playing off of each other. But the stars are Booth and Bones, and this was a great episode for them, finding a killer on a plane full of people bound for China.

Another show loses its head on the chopping block. Honestly, I’m surprised that it made it past its first season. It’s too quirky, what some people would call weird. I will admit it’s getting a little too complicated, what with all the subplots. And there’s probably not enough time to resolve them all. Will Emerson ever find his daughter? Will Ned ever find his father and be able to touch Chuck? Will Chuck ever reveal to her aunt and mom that she’s alive? What’s up with Stephen Root’s new character?

"I never have any normal fans."

The episode was a contest between Jason Alexander’s character and Joe Mantegna’s character. But it wasn’t killer vs. cop; it was over-actor vs. over-actor. It was kind of ridiculous. Joe Mantegna is a decent actor and all, but he’s no Mandy Patinkin.

"It seems awfully mean, but sometimes the ends justify the mean."

I’m actually a little mad at Toby myself. I really liked Holly, and I liked Michael with her rather than him against Toby. It’s like the show just moved a step backward (same thing I thought when Ryan and Kelly got back together last episode) instead of moving forward. Now, Jim and Pam are moving forward, and that’s good.

"After years of inbreeding, the pigs are getting violent, and the pig shield around the house is worn thin."

I thought Steve Martin was great, and I’m glad he was a bit more subdued. I don’t think it would have been as funny had he gone a bit overboard (you hear what I’m saying Robin Williams?). The Tracy stuff wasn’t all that funny this week. Kenneth was still excellent, though.

"I’m not used to doing this sober."
"It’s kind of the same thing, except no one gets sick."
"I’ll be the judge of that."

Badge bunnies? Really? Is that something that really goes on? I guess that’s what cheerleaders do when they grow up, because that’s exactly what they seem like. Car washes, fund raisers, softball...yup, grown-up cheerleaders. Okay, that four-way confrontation at the drug dealer’s house was superb. The observances, the questions, the reactions, all just superb. I also like how, even into the second season, they’re still keeping up with the fruit thing.

Oh holy God, Opie. I guess by definition dramas aren’t any good without any, well, drama, and Clay is up to his neck in it, yet he still looks all sparkly and clean. This shit will come back around to him, though. I loved how Deputy Dog (I don’t know what his name is) took out the FBI agent with one punch. That was damn cool. Next week’s season finale is going to be brutal and bloody, I’d set my watch and warrant to it.

And yet another ABC show has gone the way of the dodo. I still think this is a good show, but it hasn’t been as good this year. This episode seemed to be a big game of musical lovers. I wonder if the show would have lasted the whole season if it would have been left soap opera-y.

Chloe’s wedding and reception were in Clark’s barn? That seems very hickish. I would have assumed the reception would have been in the Talon. And they had to steal the beginning from Cloverfield. Wow. Nobody will notice that. From what we saw of Doomsday, I thought he looked pretty cool. I really got a Michael Turner vibe from him, from his run of Superman/Batman. I didn’t think Davis’ transformation made any sense, though. His power is to evolve protective measures after being attacked. What attack prompted the transformation? And was that the Persuader I saw in the previews for when the show comes back next year? Must be part of the Legion of Superheroes storyline.

"Dude, you’re confusing reality with porn again."

So we’ve got demons, we’ve got angels, and we’ve got fallen angels. Sam is shacking up with a demon. Will Dean and Anna end up together? Oh, nevermind. I think Dean won in the bagging-spiritual-beings contest. Holy crap that was a heavy ending. No wonder Dean drinks all the time now.

"I will smack your face off of your face."

Are there people out there like this, people who act on every insane idea that pops into their head?

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Listening to: Hot Action Cop - Fever for the Flava
via FoxyTunes

TV Reviews for the Viewing Week of Oct. 26, 2008 Pt. 2

My wife didn’t know that hobos have their own signs and symbols to tell other hobos what to look out for. I, of course, learned about them from the best source: comic books. It was an early issue of Adventures of Superman. Brainiac, as circus mentalist Milton Fine, was draining brain fluid from hobos. Jimmy Olsen was doing a piece for the Daily Planet about the rash of missing hobos, and hobo signs figured prominently into the story.

Is Wanda Sikes attractive? Am I missing something? That was my only problem with this episode. I didn’t like her before. I never thought she was funny. But this show is slowly allowing her to grow on me.

"You know what they say about rumors, Jack. They make a ru out of mor and s."

Oh, I’m so glad this show is back. Almost everything said is funny. And when is Will Arnette (another Bluth boy this week!) not funny?

"You think just cause you dead you ain’t gonna tell us what you was up to but you are soooo wrong."

What a clever little case. Whoever thought up that form of poker is a genius. And the subplot with Ned’s dad, very interesting. I’m glad to see Stephen Root. At first I was actually hoping he was Ned’s dad, but doesn’t look like that’s the case. I miss News Radio, and hearing him on King of the Hill isn’t the same. This is an actor that needs to be seen.

"This is why I beat hookers."

There’s a war a-brewin’, and the bodies are already starting to pile up.

Nick sure is becoming a Darling very quickly despite all protests to the contrary. And wow, this is becoming very soap opera-ey. This season we’ve had Patrick’s wife die under (to the public) mysterious circumstances, Patrick is in love with a transgender woman (is that the correct term?), the matriarch of the family has been arrested for the murder of her lover and the father of the family’s "adopted" son, Jeremy is dating the prosecutor of said matriarch, the only daughter (whoops, my mistake, the only daughter still on the show after the other one was written off) is in love with the family’s business arch-nemesis, Tripp had a heart attack, Patrick was elected New York’s newest senator, and the family is driving a wedge between Nick and his family. Now we need someone to come back from the dead (Dutch?) and for a monkey to be in love with someone.

"Oh my God, Earl. Those are voodoo dolls of you and a fat guy with stains on his shirt!"

Another cute episode, but nothing crazy good about it.

"It all makes perfect sense. It’s you, isn’t it?"

Seriously, what is Clark’s problem with the picture? Everybody is agreeing that you can’t tell who it is, so what’s the harm? Clark and Lois’ relationship is odd. There are so many facets to it that it doesn’t seem real. Sometimes they’re like brother and sister, sometimes they’re like little kids, and sometimes it’s like one has a huge crush on the other. So Oliver ends up on, what, a four-story roof? How does he get away without anyone trying to follow him? There are just too many plot holes in this show.

"Zombie/ghost orgy, huh? That’s it...I’m torchin’ everybody."

I like the new angel guy. He’s badass. Dean’s angel, though, he was too broody and whiny here. It’s too bad Sam didn’t get around to asking Dean about his time in hell. That’ll be good to hear/see.

"You wanna get some side abs? That’s a good idea. You know what I’m concerned about? I don’t want to get too bulky. I wanna stay nice and lean and tight. I wanna get that Jesus on the cross look."

How topical, what with the health insurance and the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest parody.

When shows like this, shows with a similar premise, are really good, you end up caring about the entire package. Daybreak on ABC a couple of years ago was like that. It was Taye Diggs as a cop reliving the same day over and over again. It wasn’t just the schtick that was interesting, but the regular cop/everyday stuff, too. Some shows, though, are just passable, and you either end up liking the cop/everyday stuff (which is usually better than the alternative since that’s what’s going to make up the bulk of the episode), or you end up liking the schtick (time travel, repeating days, etc.). I’m enjoying the schtick more. I like Harvey Keitel’s character and the hippie neighbor, and I think No Nuts is nice to look at, but everybody else just bores me, even Michael Imperioli. But when Sam gets brief glimpses of the future, then the show is really interesting for a bit.

"Class? There is a guy building a log cabin beside us with the door open."

The research guys made a state-of-the-art vacuum that still has to be plugged in to work? I think I’m done with the show. I was hoping for something as funny as Sunny, but it’s not. It’s a good premise though.

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Listening to: Hawthorne Heights - Ohio Is For Lovers
via FoxyTunes